Is Brad Pitt In Sherlock Holmes After All?

We've known for months that, if Guy Ritchie ever managed to include arch-nemesis Moriarty in his current incarnation of Sherlock Holmes, he would be played by Brad Pitt. The question that dogged everyone even up until the movie's release, though, was whether Pitt would actually be part of the new movie, as opposed to being brought on as the main villain for Holmes 2.

OK, I guess here come the SPOILERS.

If you've seen Holmes, you know that Moriarty is only shown behind dark shadows, and only heard as a gruff English voice speaking to Rachel McAdams' Irene Adler and showing off a fancy handgun or two. It never even occurred to me that it was Pitt's voice behind that English accent, but UGO's Matt Patches asked Ritchie himself, and, well, Ritchie hedged.

Patches: I have to ask, who plays the voice of Moriarty in this movie? Guy Ritchie: I'm not going to tell you.Matt Patches: I have to say, it sounded a little like Brad Pitt.Guy Ritchie: Can't say.

Of course, you can go either way on this-- either it really was Pitt's voice and Ritchie wants to keep the surprise, or it wasn't Pitt's voice but Ritchie wants you to believe it was when Pitt plays Moriarty in Holmes 2. What this reminds me most of is when everyone asked Tom Ford about a voice on the phone in A Single Man, a voice that distinctly belonged to Mad Men star Jon Hamm. Ford airily responded every time that he didn't know who the voice was, thanks to an agent dispute or some such. But we all knew it was Hamm anyway.

With Pitt it's a little trickier, since you can't really tell for sure who it is. So those of you who want to believe, congratulations! Guy Ritchie's avoiding the question clearly indicates that it really is Pitt's voice. And those who are skeptical, congratulations! Guy Ritchie is clearly just trying to drive you crazy. Thanks for playing, everyone.